The Forbidden

by Cheyenne McCray

  As they approached the park, she quickly ran through her childhood, of growing up with magic that she had to learn to control. About the time she burned several locks of her sister’s hair with spellfire and was grounded from using magic for an entire week.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Singed hair smells really bad.”

  He laughed as she shook her head ruefully.

  She shared with him about her extended family back in Massachusetts. Aunts, uncles, cousins, some she missed, some she didn’t care if she saw again. Her mother was orphaned, so all of her relatives were on her father’s side.

  Silver told him how she and Copper were chosen to serve as D’Anu apprentices because of their magic and because they came from a long line of D’Anu.

  She had begun her apprenticeship in the Massachusetts Coven, but when she came of age, she moved to San Francisco to complete her training. Her father was simply too overbearing as far as she was concerned, and it had been time for her to spread her wings and fly.

  Silver drove as far into the park as she could before they had to walk. Bitty’s doors creaked as they climbed out, and she flinched at the rusty injured sound of them opening and closing.

  Both she and Hawk were silent as they walked down a tree-shaded path. Fortunately the park was big enough that at times you could walk along the paths and pass few people. They got a few looks from an occasional jogger or cyclist when they saw Hawk decked out in his leathers, his sheathed dagger and sword.

  Bless it. She should have made him leave the sword back home.

  Silver had always loved coming to the park. To her it was alluring, a place filled with positive magic. She only hoped the D’Dananns’ strength and the witches’ powers, combined with that positive magic, would be enough come Samhain.

  Today was unusually clear for San Francisco. Late afternoon sunlight dappled through fall-flowering eucalyptus leaves and cypress, and danced on the walkway. Sparrows flitted from tree to tree as a crisp breeze ruffled the sleeves of her blouse and pressed silk against her breasts. Her hair lifted from her shoulders and her pentagram earrings swung against her neck.

  Despite the coolness of the October wind, she felt Hawk’s warmth as he shortened his strides to keep pace with her.

  The park was so huge they had to walk for a while to reach the spot she thought would be a good location to fight the Fomorii. When she was sure no one would see them, she broke away from the public paths, and took him through the trees toward her own hideaway.

  Her shoes only sank slightly in the moist earth as they walked. They didn’t talk along the way, and it was a comfortable silence. Instead of conversing, Silver tried to center herself, breathing in the scents of Monterey pine and cypress, and the salty breeze blowing off the ocean.

  When Silver and Hawk reached their destination, they stood just outside the meadow that had a small pond on one side of it. Wind rippled the clear surface and a pair of ring-necked ducks waddled from the grass into the water.

  The meadow was far away from the public paths, through a thick grove of trees, away from the usual haunts of park visitors. This was her place, she liked to think. Secluded, safe, special.

  She had often stood right in the center of this meadow on a moonlit night, and performed various rituals. The Elementals and spirits—Faeries, Dragons, Gnomes, and Undines that had chosen not to go to Otherworld—tended the meadow and pond, adding to its strong magic.

  Her heart ached. She would ask the spirits and Elementals that lived here for permission before she allowed the D’Danann to bring the beasts here. After the Fomorii were lured to this spot, it most likely would no longer be a place of solitude and joy. But in her heart she knew it was the right location to send the evil back where it came from.

  Hawk took in the meadow, and he nodded his approval. “Now we just need a way to draw out the bastards.”

  Silver rested her gaze on a yellow warbler perching on a cypress branch, before she turned back to Hawk. “Rhiannon said they need more D’Anu witches to help summon a great number of Fomorii.”

  “What about other Balorites in other cities?” Hawk asked.

  “From what I understand, the Balorite Clans don’t answer to one another,” she said. “There’s too much of a power struggle between the Clans. I don’t think we have to worry about them.”

  “Thank the gods,” Hawk muttered.

  “Other Balorites probably aren’t an option and our Covens are so far apart—Rhiannon, Mackenzie, Iris, and I are the only D’Anu they could come after,” Silver said, and paused before adding, “Unless more D’Anu arrive from the other Covens before Samhain.”

  She went on. “Rhiannon said Darkwolf wants me because I have strong gray magic. He thinks he can turn me.” Silver blew out her breath, stirring a lock of her hair. “On Samhain I can be the bait. I can draw them out.”

  “No.” The angles of Hawk’s face were harsh as he looked down at her. “I won’t risk you.”

  She planted her hands on her hips. “It’s not all about you, or even me. This is about something much bigger.”

  Hawk’s features shifted from anger to torture to something she couldn’t read. He brought his hands to her upper arms and stroked her skin through her shirt, causing her to shiver. “Please, Silver. Don’t ask me to let you do this.”

  She reached up to cup his stubbled cheeks. “I need to. For the good of all witches. For the good of every human in this city. Maybe beyond San Francisco.” She smiled. “Besides, I don’t intend to be caught by the bastards.”

  He leaned his cheek into one of her hands and closed his eyes. He looked so tired, and for the first time she was sure she saw fear in his expression. Not for himself. Fear for her.

  She rose up on her tiptoes and brushed her mouth over his. A sizzling sensation traveled from the touch of his lips, throughout her body. His eyes opened and his hands tightened on her arms.

  “Hey,” she said against his lips. “It’s okay.” She felt him stiffen, felt his restraint as she slipped her hands from his cheeks and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m a pretty tough witch, if I do say so myself.”

  Before he could say a word, she moved her mouth against his, kissing him slowly, seductively. She nipped his lower lip, licked the spot, then bit him again. Hawk groaned and crashed his mouth against hers. His kiss was hard, fierce, wild. And she wanted more, had to have all of him.

  He slipped his hands from her arms to her waist and pulled her against his hips, and she felt the hard ridge through his clothing.

  Their moans met and became one as their bodies melted into each other. Silver lost herself in the kiss, his lips hot and wet against hers, his tongue deep inside her mouth.

  He tasted of all that was male and she breathed deeply of his masculine scent that heightened her arousal, made her want him so much that she whimpered her desire.

  Hawk groaned again and pulled away from her, his amber eyes smoldering. “We shouldn’t—”

  Silver moved a finger to his lips to shush him. “Let’s enjoy each other. We won’t have a lot of time, but we can take pleasure in what we have.”

  His amber eyes nearly glowed with arousal. And perhaps something more. “Are you certain?”

  “I couldn’t be more sure of myself than I am right now.” She slipped both hands into his hair and brought him down to her again. “I need you inside me.”

  His hands clenched her skirt even as he said, “Here?” “Yes.” She smiled and wriggled against him. “Now.”

  25

  Silver clasped one of Hawk’s hands and led him deeper into the trees, to a tiny patch of grass and leaves hidden from the meadow. A secluded place where they would be alone to enjoy these precious moments together.

  Hawk took Silver gently down to the ground, his gaze never leaving hers. A part of him still tried to tell himself he shouldn’t be doing this, but a much larger part needed her, and knew she needed him. Just touching her gave him such a feeling of completion he couldn’t find the words to
describe it

  He knelt beside her and ran his fingertips down the side of her face and along the curve of her neck to her pentagram, where he paused. “Are you sure?” he asked again, tracing a circle around her pendant.

  “I never do anything I’m not sure about.” She smiled and lifted her head to brush her lips against his.

  Hawk’s heart twisted. He moved his fingers from the pentagram to the vee of her blouse, and goose bumps rose on her soft skin as she shivered. “You are the loveliest creature I have ever known,” he murmured as he moved his fingers to circle one taut nipple rising beneath the silk of her blouse. “I can’t get enough of you.”

  “Then take me.” She clasped her hand over his and pressed it hard to her breast. “Take me to places no one else can.”

  Hawk lowered his head and his lips met hers in a soft kiss. He could never get enough of Silver’s sweet taste, her scent, the warmth of her body next to his.

  He moved his lips to her throat and flicked out his tongue, enjoying the salt of her skin as he trailed his lips down the curve of her neck. He traveled farther until his mouth was moving along the curve of one breast. Silver’s soft moans joined with the sound of birds chirping in the trees, the chatter of squirrels, and the gentle sound of wind through leaves and pine needles.

  She slipped her fingers into his hair. “Make love to me, Hawk.”

  “I am, my sweet little witch,” he replied with a gentle nip at her breast through her blouse.

  Silver moaned again and clenched her hands tighter in his hair. “I need to feel you against me. Inside me.”

  “Uh-uh.” He sucked her nipple, wetting the material and making it transparent. “I am going to take it slow with you. You are too special.”

  “I guess a little magic is needed.” Silver writhed beneath him. “If I’m going to have my way with you.”

  He rose and the corner of his mouth quirked. “And what magic would that be, witch?”

  Silver slipped her hand from his hair and ran one finger down his throat to his taut belly, and straight through him.

  As she traced the path, a burst of warmth and sizzling sensations shot throughout his body, much like the first time they’d experienced pleasure. But this was different. By the time she reached his rigid length, his whole body was on fire.

  She traced the outline of his erection, teasing him with her touch. She circled her free hand in the air three times. A blue glow and silver sparkles immediately surrounded them. Filled him with such arousal that he fought to restrain himself. He thought he’d reach orgasm just from her magic.

  “Like it?” She drew him to her, guiding him between her thighs By the almost pained pleasure on her face and the hoarseness of her voice, he could tell her own magic affected her as much as it affected him.

  “Gods, yes.” He braced his hands to either side of her chest. “I’m ready to take you until you beg for mercy.”

  “Do it.” She waved her hand again and the buttons of her blouse simply slipped out of their holes, revealing her breasts.

  He had to fight for control and gently suck her beautiful nipples. His arousal elevated dangerously high and he didn’t know how he could control himself much longer. The blue glow and silver sparkles continued to swirl around them, between them, through him.

  She arched her back. “Don’t hold back, Hawk.”

  He shoved her skirt up around her waist where she was completely bare. At the same time she simply ran her finger up the front of his pants. The ties magically came undone, releasing him.

  Hawk groaned as her small, cool fingers wrapped around his length and she guided him. The magic glow and sparkles never stopped, and he thought he’d go mad with the blood rushing through him and the pounding of his heart.

  “Do it,” she begged again. “Take me.”

  With a near roar, he slid deep inside and Silver gave a purr of delight. He closed his eyes and just held still, afraid that if he made a movement, it might be his last.

  Her warmth wrapped him like a velvet night and he could see her magical sparkles behind his eyelids. Her witchcraft radiated through him, inside her core, sensations that made him feel harder, thicker, longer.

  Hawk felt so good inside her that Silver shuddered with pleasure. Even as he held himself still, she began pumping her hips, forcing him to join her in the rhythm. His eyes opened and his gaze fixed on hers. Those beautiful golden-amber eyes that sent another thrill straight through her.

  Sweat rolled down Hawk’s face and landed on Silver’s bare breast. She felt him tremble with the force of his need. “I want to take it slow with you. I want to give you pleasure like you’ve never felt before,” he said in his deep Irish brogue that caused her to shiver all the more.

  “Unleash yourself,” she urged him. “Let go.”

  Hawk focused on Silver and she cried out at the feel of him inside her, expanding her, filling her.

  “Mine," he said against her breasts.

  Silver’s orgasm hit so hard and so fast, she never saw it coming. Sparks exploded in her mind and throughout her body. She screamed and barely recognized the sounds of birds scattering and calling out as if joining in the primal cry spilling from her lips.

  Her own magic enhanced her orgasm so much that she almost called it back because it was too much to bear. But she wanted to give him as much pleasure as he’d given her.

  He came with a shout. “Silver.” He rolled onto his side, dead leaves crunching beneath his weight. Keeping her tight within his embrace, his eyes met hers. “I can’t get enough of you. Have you cast some kind of spell on me?”

  She smiled as she stroked the side of his face, his stubble tickling her palm. “If I have, then you have cast one on me, as well.”

  “My witch.” He kissed her softly. “My sweet little witch.”

  * * *

  Silver stood skyclad in the center of the park’s hidden meadow, cool air caressing her naked body, her heart still beating with the power of her lovemaking with Hawk. Her body had the sweet ache of their sexual pleasure.

  He stood at the edge of the meadow, watching her intently. He looked so incredibly handsome, from the proud tilt of his head to his dark hair stirring around his shoulders to his finely muscled body and powerful legs. She felt safe and secure when he was near, as if nothing could happen when they were together.

  An illusion, at best, with danger threatening them at every moment. But her heart couldn’t hold back the joy she felt just being with him.

  They were in nature, always a sacred place, so she didn’t need to cast a circle before she called to the Elementals. The muffled evening noises of ducks and birds were music to her ears, as well as the sound of wind teasing leaves and branches of the surrounding trees. It smelled of pine and cypress, water, rich earth, and the remnants of sunshine as the afternoon headed toward evening.

  “In this enchanted and bewitching place, I summon the Faeries, Gnomes, Undines, and Dragons with much respect,” she said in a loud, clear voice. “This is your home. You tend the grass, flowers, and the pond. You speak to the trees and to all of nature.” Her voice carried through the evening air as she spoke to those who rightfully owned the meadow.

  “I ask for the use of your home to cleanse what is evil and send it back to where it came from.” Her throat ached and she felt the sudden need to cry. “This evil threatens the lives of all witches, all humans, and all that is good and pure.”

  She swallowed and continued, “To fight this evil we need the use of your home. Blood may be shed. The impure may destroy what is serene and at peace. I ask this of you to save us all from the Fomorii.”

  Silver’s voice trailed away, and for a moment the meadow was completely silent.

  Fog began to rise from the ground. A light, gentle fog that caressed her ankles, swirling around them. A glitter appeared before her and then a shape, no bigger than the length of her hand. A tiny being fluttered her wings as she flew high enough to meet Silver’s gaze.

  The Faerie wa
s so beautiful that tears ran freely down Silver’s cheeks. The creature wore nothing on her perfect tiny figure, and her long dark hair spilled to her buttocks. Silver realized the glitter floating before her came from the Faerie’s wings, every time she opened and shut them.

  With a knowing but sad smile, the Faerie stretched out her small hand. Automatically, Silver raised hers, and cupped her palm in front of the Faerie. Upon it appeared a perfect feather. “From the blackbird,” the Faerie said, in a voice like the most beautiful song on a clear night. “For defending your territory. Our territory,” she continued. “Black for the banishment of evil. You have our blessing, Silver of the D’Anu.”

  “Thank you,” Silver said to the Air Elemental, the word coming out a mere tremble on her lips.

  The Faerie darted away, into the forest, leaving a trail of glitter behind. Silver watched until every sparkle had vanished into the evening air.

  “Ah-hem,” a voice said at her feet, jerking Silver’s attention from the darkness to the fog swirling around her ankles. An old man stood there, no taller than her knee. He had gnarled features, like the bark of an oak tree, wore gray and brown clothing, and held a staff as gnarled as his face. “Would you ignore those of the Earth?” he asked, but with a glint of humor in his eye.

  Silver smiled. “Never.”

  He held up his hand and Silver lowered hers. Beside the blackbird feather he placed a large, sparkling green diamond-cut stone. “Emerald for strength and bravery. Green for healing.”

  With a respectful nod, she said, “Thank you for your gift, one with the Earth.”

  “Use it well.” The Gnome returned her nod, then hobbled away, through the swirling fog.

  The moment the Gnome vanished from sight, Silver heard a splash in the pond. An Undine rose from the shallow water. The beautiful woman stepped out to stand on its grassy bank. Silver walked toward the naked being whose long blonde hair did nothing to cover her. The Undine’s green eyes glowed with sensuality in the evening light. She was as tall as Silver, yet she had risen from what was a small and shallow pond.